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36 Hours: Sofia, Bulgaria

By CHRISTINE AJUDUA

Published: September 2, 2012

CORRECTION APPENDED

FIRST came the Thracians, about 2,700 years ago, followed by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turks and then the Communists. These days -- more than two decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and five years after joining the European Union -- the Bulgarian capital is finally coming into its own. In place of the old Lenin monument, a statue of Sofia's patron saint now stands tall -- a dark princess that somehow embodies the city's East-meets-West, old-meets-new allure. Under her gaze, a youthful, creative energy displays itself as Sofia angles for the title of European Capital of Culture 2019.

Friday

6 p.m.1. THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Most of Sofia's main sights lie within the small city center, where, in contrast to the Soviet-style blocks on the way in from the airport, the streets are paved a cheery yellow. On the two-hour Free Sofia Tour (Palace of Justice, 2 Vitosha Boulevard; 359-88-699-3977; freesofiatour.com), offered twice daily by local Ph.D. students and plugged-in volunteers, stops include the gold-domed Alexander Nevski Cathedral; the early-20th-century Central Mineral Baths (closed for more than two decades, the building, with its neo-Baroque and neo-Byzantine influences, is scheduled to reopen by 2014 with a spa and a history museum); and the Serdika subway underpass. There, recently unearthed relics of ancient Sofia are now being put on display -- the first phase of a subterranean archaeological complex, set to be completed next year.

8 p.m.2. BULGARIAN BARBECUE

The country's convoluted past is reflected in its hearty cuisine, which combines Central Asian and European flavors. At SkaraBar (12 Georgi Benkovski Street or 2 Dimitar Grekov; 359-2-483-4431 or 359-2-483-0696; skarabar.com), a barbecue joint with retractable floor-to-ceiling windows, try the meshana skara platter (15.80 leva, or about $10.40 at 1.52 leva to the dollar), with skewered lamb and sausages, including a delicious spiced-pork kebapcheta. Bulgarian wines by the bottle start at 19.90 leva and shots of grape- and plum-based rakia, the Balkan digestif, start at 2.10 leva. Over at the bistro Lubimoto, ''Favorite'' (25 General Parensov Street; 359-88-477-8464; lubimoto.com), patrons wax poetic about the slow-cooked pork loin (8.49 leva).

10 p.m.3. ART-BAR CRAWL

The bright green Kraft Paints building is the only thing marking the entrance to Hambara (6 Septemvri), a secret hangout for artists and intellectuals during the Communist regime that is still lighted by candles -- rather precariously, given the wooden interiors. Easier to find is A:part:mental (68 Neofit Rilski Street; 359-87-878-7321), a century-old residence turned African embassy turned gallery-cafe-bar that showcases local artwork while serving raspberry wine (5 leva) and health-conscious cakes (5 leva). Two years ago, Kino Vlaikova (11 Tsar Ivan Assen II; 359-87-985-5819; vlaikova.com), a circa 1927 cinema, turned into a venue for indie bands and Zagorka-swigging hipsters. Farther east, there's the chic new Kanaal (2 Madrid Boulevard; 359-88-2-856-346; kanaal.bg), a Dutch-inspired spot with Trappist beers (from 5.50 leva) and art shows.

Saturday

10 a.m.4. EXHIBIT A: SOCIALISM

Last September, the government sought to contain Bulgaria's Communist past in the new Museum of Socialist Art (7 Lachezar Stanchev Street; 359-2-980-0071; nationalartgallerybg.org; 6 leva), on the city's southeastern outskirts. Inside, you'll find paintings and other works created in the country between 1944 and 1989 and black-and-white propaganda shorts. A sculpture park is dotted with statues of former Bulgarian Communist Party leaders and prime ministers including Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil Kolarov, not to mention Lenin. You can buy caps and T-shirts adorned with their likenesses in the gift shop.

1 p.m.5. SOUP-ER COOL

Perhaps only in Sofia would two of the latest culinary hot spots be all about soup. Supa Star (8 Tsar Ivan Shishman Street; 359-88-290), done up with whimsical artworks and colorful lighting fixtures, offers everything from tarator (2.70 leva) -- a Bulgarian classic with cucumbers, walnuts and a chilled yogurt base -- to tiger-prawn Thai soup (5 leva). Not to be outdone, Soup Me (55 Neofit Rilski Street; 359-88-862-6525), where a ladle serves as the door handle and silver pots have been fashioned into ceiling lamps, serves specials like shkembe chorba (or tripe soup; from 3.80 leva).

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: The 36 Hours column on Sept. 2 about Sofia, Bulgaria, misstated the country code for Les Fleurs hotel. It is 359, not 35. (The number is 359-2-8-100-800.) And the column, using information from the nightclub Kino Vlaikova, misidentified a beer offered there. It is Pirinsko -- not Zagorka, which the club no longer serves.

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